DALLASGames this weekvs. Anaheim, @ Nashville
NotesThe Stars play only twice this week so we recommend reserving all your Dallas players with the exception of
Brad Richards and
Loui Eriksson (if healthy). Eriksson suffered a head injury when hit by the Sharks
Doug Murray and may have a concussion.
Kari Lehtonen has made 12 straight starts in goal for the Stars.
Jamie Benn has goals in eight of his last nine games to go with five assists as he has taken full advantage of his ice time of late.
DETROITGames this weekvs. Pittsburgh, vs. Vancouver, vs. Toronto
Notes The Red Wings start a five game home stand this week. They are a rested team on Monday when they face Pittsburgh.
Brian Rafalski returned on Wednesday and assisted on all three goals but may have injured his knee on Thursday.
Pavel Datsyuk suffered a lower body injury Thursday.
Chris Osgood was scheduled to return to the lineup from sports hernia surgery on March 9 but has had a couple of setbacks, forcing the Red Wings to recall
Joey MacDonald.
Henrik Zetterberg had just two goals in 26 games before scoring twice on Wednesday.
EDMONTONGames this week@ Nashville, @ St. Louis, vs. Calgary
NotesThe Oilers continue to suffer injuries as
Ales Hemsky,
Taylor Hall and
Sam Gagner are out for the season while
Ryan Whitney,
Shawn Horcoff and
Theo Peckham are also out of action.
Gilbert Brule has been diagnosed with a concussion.
Devan Dubnyk and
Nikolai Khabibulin each have 10 wins but while Dubnyk has 11 losses in regulation, The Bulin Wall has 28.
FLORIDAGames this week@ New York Rangers, @ Chicago, @ Buffalo, @ Pittsburgh
NotesThe Panthers play all four on the road this week and play three games in four nights so look for
Scott Clemmensen to play once in place of
Tomas Vokoun. They are tired on Wednesday when they are in Chicago to play a rested Blackhawks team. Head coach Pete DeBoer doesn't know if he will back next season behind the bench for the Florida Panthers.
Mike Duco has been recalled and if he is able to stay he will be a great source of penalty minutes in the final three weeks.
Jacob Markstrom underwent surgery and is gone for the season. He will get a chance to be the Panthers top goalie next season, especially if Vokoun signs elsewhere.
LOS ANGELESGames this weekvs. Calgary, vs. San Jose, vs. Colorado
NotesThe Kings get a big break this week when they face tired opponents twice when they are rested. First they go against Calgary on Monday and then face San Jose on Thursday after the Sharks play Calgary the previous night.
Anze Kopitar has five goals and nine points in his last six games.
Jon Quick is still the number one goalie for the Kings but
Jonathan Bernier is getting a lot more action and has started in five of the Kings last 10 games.
MINNESOTAGames this weekvs. Toronto, vs. St. Louis
NotesThe Wild play only twice this week so we recommend benching all your Minnesota players.
Mikko Koivu returned to the Minnesota lineup on Tuesday and picked up a goal and an assist. They need him down the stretch.
Cam Barker has missed nine of the last 10 games with a back injury while
Guillaume Latendresse has missed the last couple of games after playing three in a row as he is being seen by doctors. He missed 58 games earlier in the season after a couple of operations on a torn labrum in his hip and a sports hernia.
MONTREALGames this weekvs. Buffalo, @ Boston, vs. Washington
NotesThe Canadiens are rested on Sunday when they play a tired Washington team as the Capitals face Ottawa the night before. It should be a wild matchup as the Habs and the Bruins play on March 24. In their last meeting,
Zdeno Chara hit
Max Pacioretty into the stanchion, breaking Pacioretty's neck and concussing him. No suspension was given to Chara and the Canadiens could be going after the giant defenseman.
Tomas Plekanec and
Jeff Halpern are day-to-day with lower body injuries.
NASHVILLEGames this weekvs. Edmonton, vs. Anaheim, vs. Dallas
NotesThe Predators play all three games at home this week and are rested when they face Anaheim on Thursday as the Ducks are in Dallas the night before.
Pekka Rinne does not like playing against the Kings as he has given up seven goals in his last 39 shots.
Mike Fisher is having a terrible season with 15 goals, 28 points and a minus-23 rating after a great summer in which he married Carrie Underwood. Patrik Hornqvist leads the Predators with 18 goals.
NEW JERSEYGames this week@ Boston, @ Pittsburgh, @ Buffalo
NotesThe Devils play three games on the road this week. They are rested on Friday when they take on the tired Penguins as Pittsburgh are at Philadelphia the previous night.
Martin Brodeur has started the last nine games, leaving the bench to
Johan Hedberg.
Patrik Elias leads the Devils in points with 52 while
Ilya Kovalchuk has 26 goals and 51 points this season.
David Clarkson leads with 109 penalty minutes but surprisingly,
Dainius Zubrus is second with 49.
NEW YORK ISLANDERSGames this week@ Tampa Bay, vs. Atlanta, vs. Philadelphia
NotesThe Islanders activated
Rick DiPietro off the injured list and sent
Nathan Lawson to the minors. Look for DiPietro and
Al Montoya to split the netminding the rest of the way.
Matt Moulson potted his 30th of the season and now has done it for the second year in a row.
John Tavares has two goals and three assists in his last three games.
Pierre Parenteau was credited with a goal without taking a shot on net as he was hooked with the net empty and given the goal by the officials.
NEW YORK RANGERSGames this weekvs. Florida, vs. Ottawa, @ Boston
NotesWojtek Wolski was a healthy scratch this past week as coach John Tortorella was holding him accountable for his less than stellar play. Wolski has not scored in his last eight games.
Sean Avery was a healthy scratch on Sunday.
Ryan McDonagh is plus-14 in 29 games this season.
Brian Boyle has two goals, five points and a minus-six rating in 19 games since the All-Star break, while
Ryan Callahan has 19 points in 19 games since returning from a broken hand.
A lot of pools are heading into the playoffs this week so here are the games being played by each team for the remainder of the season.
Anaheim -10 (3,4,3)
Atlanta - 10 (3,3,4)
Boston - 11 (4,3,4)
Buffalo - 10 (3,4,3)
Calgary - 8 (3,3,2)
Carolina - 10 (3,4,3)
Chicago - 10 (2,4,4)
Colorado -11 (3,4,4)
Columbus -10 (3,4,3)
Dallas - 10 (2,4,4)
Detroit - 10 (3,4,3)
Edmonton -10 (3,4,3)
Florida - 10 (4,3,3)
Los Angeles - 10 (3,3,4)
Minnesota - 9 (2,4,3)
Montreal - 9 (3,3,3)
Nashville - 9 (3,3,3)
New Jersey -10 (3,3,4)
NY Islanders - 9 (3,3,3)
NY Rangers - 9 (3,3,3)
Ottawa - 10 (4,3,3)
Philadelphia - 11 (4,4,3)
Phoenix - 8 (3,2,3)
Pittsburgh -10 (4,3,3)
St. Louis - 10 (3,4,3)
San Jose - 9 (3,2,4)
Tampa Bay -10 (3,4,3)
Toronto - 9 (3,3,3)
Vancouver - 9 (3,3,3)
Washington - 9 (3,3,3)
Boston, Colorado and Philadelphia play 11 times each while Calgary and Phoenix play only eight times.
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Here is The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF MARCH 21-274 Games - Boston, Florida, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
3 Games - Anaheim, Atlanta, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington
2 Games - Chicago, Dallas, Minnesota
Florida plays all four games on the road this week.
Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia and Phoenix play three games at home.
Anaheim, Calgary, New Jersey, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington play three road games this week.
INJURIES Pavel Datsyuk suffered a lower body injury on Thursday.
Click here to check out all the injured players in the NHL.
ANAHEIMGames this week@ Dallas, @ Nashville, @ Chicago
NotesThe Ducks are a tired team on Thursday when they face a rested Nashville squad after playing in Dallas the night before. They play all three games in four nights so look for
Ray Emery to play once in place of
Dan Ellis as
Jonas Hiller is still out with vertigo. Emery was strong in relief of Ellis on Sunday and gave up only one goal on 31 shots in his first start of the season.
Corey Perry was the third star of the week with seven points.
ATLANTAGames this week@ New York Islanders, vs. Vancouver, vs. Ottawa
NotesThe Thrashers play three games in four nights so look for
Chris Mason to get into action once in place of
Ondrej Pavelec. The Thrashers are tired on Friday when they face a rested Vancouver team as Atlanta plays the Islanders in New York on Thursday.
Radek Dvorak has had a pesky groin problem that has hampered his play since his trade from Florida. The Thrashers have a combined 29 goals and 101 points from their top two defensemen this season,
Tobias Enstrom and
Dustin Byfuglien.
BOSTONGames this weekvs. New Jersey, vs. Montreal, vs. New York Rangers, @ Philadelphia
NotesThe Bruins play four times this week including three in four nights. Expect to see
Tim Thomas and
Tuukka Rask split the net. The Bruins play eight of their last 11 games at home. They face Montreal on March 24 and that game should be a wild one as
Zdeno Chara broke the neck and concussed
Max Pacioretty in their last game a couple of weeks ago.
Brad Marchand was suspended for two games for a blindside elbow to the head of Columbus forward
R.J. Umberger on Tuesday night.
Tyler Seguin broke a seven game pointless streak on Thursday.
BUFFALOGames this week@ Montreal, vs. Florida, vs. New Jersey
NotesTyler Ennis has three goals and five points in his last four games.
Thomas Vanek has 25 power play points this season while
Cody McCormick leads the team in penalty minutes with 140.
Steve Montador has a plus-16 rating to go with 75 penalty minutes making him a good fantasy player. The five goals and 22 points are just a bonus.
CALGARYGames this week@ Los Angeles, @ San Jose, @ Edmonton
NotesThe Flames are tired on Monday when they play the rested Kings after facing Anaheim on Sunday.
Daymond Langkow, who broke a vertebrae in his neck on March 21, 2010, practiced for the first time in almost a year on Wednesday. He hopes to return to the Calgary lineup as the Flames are suffering injuries up the middle with
Brendan Morrison and
David Moss out of action. They recalled
Ales Kotalik from the minors.
Jay Bouwmeester set the all-time record for most games played consecutively by a defenseman when he played in his 496th straight game this past week. He broke the record previously held by
Karlis Skrastins.
CAROLINAGames this weekvs. Ottawa, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Tampa Bay
NotesThe Hurricanes play a home-and-home series against the Lightning this week so look for
Bryan Allen or
Tim Gleason to add to their penalty minutes total.
Eric Staal has gone five games without a goal but not for a lack of trying as he had nine shots on goal last game.
Jamie McBain is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks with a shoulder injury.
CHICAGOGames this weekvs. Florida, vs. Anaheim
NotesThe Blackhawks are rested on Wednesday when they take on a tired Florida team. Chicago plays only twice this week so we recommend benching everyone with the exception of
Jonathan Toews,
Patrick Sharp,
Patrick Kane and
Marian Hossa.
Tomas Kopecky has been dropped to the fourth line after spending most of the season as a top six forward.
Corey Crawford has started the last 16 games in a row, leaving
Marty Turco with the best seat in the house.
Jonathan Toews has 11 goals in his last 12 games.
COLORADOGames this weekvs. Columbus, vs. Toronto, @ Los Angeles
NotesTomas Fleischmann has started skating again after a pulmonary embolism ended his season on January 18. He will not play again this season.
Paul Stastny returned to the lineup after a one game absence due to a bad back.
Adam Foote is likely to retire at the end of the season. The Avalanche have tumbled down to near the bottom of the standings as they are 1-18-2 in their last 21 games.
COLUMBUSGames this week@ Colorado, @ Phoenix, vs. Vancouver
NotesGrant Clitsome has been one of the surprises of the season as the 25-year-old has 18 points in his last 26 games. He will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season as he will not have played in 80 NHL games before turning 26. Expect him to re-sign with the Blue Jackets however as they did give him the opportunity to shine this season.
Chris Clark is expected to miss three-four weeks with a lower body injury.
Rick Nash has not scored in 10 straight games but does have six assists. He is one goal away from his fourth straight 30 goal season.
DALLASGames this weekvs. Anaheim, @ Nashville
NotesThe Stars play only twice this week so we recommend reserving all your Dallas players with the exception of
Brad Richards and
Loui Eriksson (if healthy). Eriksson suffered a head injury when hit by the Sharks
Doug Murray and may have a concussion.
Kari Lehtonen has made 12 straight starts in goal for the Stars.
Jamie Benn has goals in eight of his last nine games to go with five assists as he has taken full advantage of his ice time of late.
DETROITGames this weekvs. Pittsburgh, vs. Vancouver, vs. Toronto
Notes The Red Wings start a five game home stand this week. They are a rested team on Monday when they face Pittsburgh.
Brian Rafalski returned on Wednesday and assisted on all three goals but may have injured his knee on Thursday.
Pavel Datsyuk suffered a lower body injury Thursday.
Chris Osgood was scheduled to return to the lineup from sports hernia surgery on March 9 but has had a couple of setbacks, forcing the Red Wings to recall
Joey MacDonald.
Henrik Zetterberg had just two goals in 26 games before scoring twice on Wednesday.
EDMONTONGames this week@ Nashville, @ St. Louis, vs. Calgary
NotesThe Oilers continue to suffer injuries as
Ales Hemsky,
Taylor Hall and
Sam Gagner are out for the season while
Ryan Whitney,
Shawn Horcoff and
Theo Peckham are also out of action.
Gilbert Brule has been diagnosed with a concussion.
Devan Dubnyk and
Nikolai Khabibulin each have 10 wins but while Dubnyk has 11 losses in regulation, The Bulin Wall has 28.
FLORIDAGames this week@ New York Rangers, @ Chicago, @ Buffalo, @ Pittsburgh
NotesThe Panthers play all four on the road this week and play three games in four nights so look for
Scott Clemmensen to play once in place of
Tomas Vokoun. They are tired on Wednesday when they are in Chicago to play a rested Blackhawks team. Head coach Pete DeBoer doesn't know if he will back next season behind the bench for the Florida Panthers.
Mike Duco has been recalled and if he is able to stay he will be a great source of penalty minutes in the final three weeks.
Jacob Markstrom underwent surgery and is gone for the season. He will get a chance to be the Panthers top goalie next season, especially if Vokoun signs elsewhere.
LOS ANGELESGames this weekvs. Calgary, vs. San Jose, vs. Colorado
NotesThe Kings get a big break this week when they face tired opponents twice when they are rested. First they go against Calgary on Monday and then face San Jose on Thursday after the Sharks play Calgary the previous night.
Anze Kopitar has five goals and nine points in his last six games.
Jon Quick is still the number one goalie for the Kings but
Jonathan Bernier is getting a lot more action and has started in five of the Kings last 10 games.
MINNESOTAGames this weekvs. Toronto, vs. St. Louis
NotesThe Wild play only twice this week so we recommend benching all your Minnesota players.
Mikko Koivu returned to the Minnesota lineup on Tuesday and picked up a goal and an assist. They need him down the stretch.
Cam Barker has missed nine of the last 10 games with a back injury while
Guillaume Latendresse has missed the last couple of games after playing three in a row as he is being seen by doctors. He missed 58 games earlier in the season after a couple of operations on a torn labrum in his hip and a sports hernia.
MONTREALGames this weekvs. Buffalo, @ Boston, vs. Washington
NotesThe Canadiens are rested on Sunday when they play a tired Washington team as the Capitals face Ottawa the night before. It should be a wild matchup as the Habs and the Bruins play on March 24. In their last meeting,
Zdeno Chara hit
Max Pacioretty into the stanchion, breaking Pacioretty's neck and concussing him. No suspension was given to Chara and the Canadiens could be going after the giant defenseman.
Tomas Plekanec and
Jeff Halpern are day-to-day with lower body injuries.
NASHVILLEGames this weekvs. Edmonton, vs. Anaheim, vs. Dallas
NotesThe Predators play all three games at home this week and are rested when they face Anaheim on Thursday as the Ducks are in Dallas the night before.
Pekka Rinne does not like playing against the Kings as he has given up seven goals in his last 39 shots.
Mike Fisher is having a terrible season with 15 goals, 28 points and a minus-23 rating after a great summer in which he married Carrie Underwood. Patrik Hornqvist leads the Predators with 18 goals.
NEW JERSEYGames this week@ Boston, @ Pittsburgh, @ Buffalo
NotesThe Devils play three games on the road this week. They are rested on Friday when they take on the tired Penguins as Pittsburgh are at Philadelphia the previous night.
Martin Brodeur has started the last nine games, leaving the bench to
Johan Hedberg.
Patrik Elias leads the Devils in points with 52 while
Ilya Kovalchuk has 26 goals and 51 points this season.
David Clarkson leads with 109 penalty minutes but surprisingly,
Dainius Zubrus is second with 49.
NEW YORK ISLANDERSGames this week@ Tampa Bay, vs. Atlanta, vs. Philadelphia
NotesThe Islanders activated
Rick DiPietro off the injured list and sent
Nathan Lawson to the minors. Look for DiPietro and
Al Montoya to split the netminding the rest of the way.
Matt Moulson potted his 30th of the season and now has done it for the second year in a row.
John Tavares has two goals and three assists in his last three games.
Pierre Parenteau was credited with a goal without taking a shot on net as he was hooked with the net empty and given the goal by the officials.
NEW YORK RANGERSGames this weekvs. Florida, vs. Ottawa, @ Boston
NotesWojtek Wolski was a healthy scratch this past week as coach John Tortorella was holding him accountable for his less than stellar play. Wolski has not scored in his last eight games.
Sean Avery was a healthy scratch on Sunday.
Ryan McDonagh is plus-14 in 29 games this season.
Brian Boyle has two goals, five points and a minus-six rating in 19 games since the All-Star break, while
Ryan Callahan has 19 points in 19 games since returning from a broken hand.
OTTAWAGames this week@ Carolina, @ New York Rangers, vs. Washington, @ Atlanta
NotesThe Senators play all three games in four nights so look for
Curtis McElhinney to play once in place of
Craig Anderson (if healthy). The Senators will be tired on Friday when they are home to Washington as Ottawa plays in New York Thursday.
Matt Carkner is gone for the season.
Roman Wick has been recalled by the Senators.
Erik Karlsson leads the Senators with 40 points, one ahead of
Jason Spezza.
PHILADELPHIAGames this weekvs. Washington, vs. Pittsburgh, @ New York Islanders, vs. Boston
NotesThe Flyers play three games in four nights so expect to see
Brian Boucher at least once in place of
Sergei Bobrovsky. The Flyers switched up their lines on Tuesday and went with
Daniel Briere,
Claude Giroux and
Jeff Carter on one combination, while
Mike Richards centered
Scott Hartnell and
Ville Leino.
Kris Versteeg was between
James van Riemsdyk and
Daniel Carcillo, while
Blair Betts,
Jody Shelley and
Darroll Powe formed the fourth unit.
Chris Pronger is out three-four weeks after hand surgery.
PHOENIXGames this weekvs. St. Louis, vs. Columbus, vs. San Jose
NotesThe Coyotes play all three games at home this week. It appears that the Coyotes will not be in Phoenix next year as the Goldwater Institute has decided to file a legal challenge against the City of Glendale with regards to the pending sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Matthew Hulsizer. It will make it impossible to sell the bonds so it looks as if the franchise will be headed to Winnipeg.
Lee Stempniak scored on Tuesday for the first time in 22 games.
PITTSBURGHGames this week@ Detroit, @ Philadelphia, vs. New Jersey, vs. Florida
NotesThe Penguins play three games in four nights so
Brent Johnson could play once in place of
Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins will be a tired team twice this week while playing rested teams. The first time is Monday against the Red Wings with the second game occurring on Friday against the Devils.
Sidney Crosby has finally started to skate but is likely still a while away from being game ready after suffering a concussion on January 1.
Kris Letang has only one point in his last 13 games.
ST. LOUISGames this week@ Phoenix, vs. Edmonton, @ Minnesota
NotesThe Blues are now up for sale as is their arena. Owner Dave Checketts was trying to buy the remainder of the team from majority shareholder TowerBrook Capital Partners but the two sides could not agree on a price.
Andy McDonald has nine goals and 22 points in 21 games since returning from a concussion.
David Backes is having a terrific fantasy season with 25 goals, 51 points, 91 penalty minutes and a plus-19 rating.
SAN JOSEGames this weekvs. Calgary, @ Los Angeles, @ Phoenix
NotesThe Sharks play three games in four nights so look for
Antero Niittymaki to play once in place of
Antti Niemi. The Sharks are tired on Thursday when they take on a rested Los Angeles team.
Dany Heatley was suspended for two games for elbowing the Stars'
Steve Ott in the head.
Doug Murray hit
Loui Eriksson in the head in the same game but was not suspended.
Joe Pavelski had four assists on Tuesday to boost his point total to 52.
TAMPA BAYGames this weekvs. New York Islanders, vs. Carolina, @ Carolina
NotesThe Lightning play a home-and-home series against the Carolina Hurricanes so expect to see
Steve Downie (if healthy) add to his penalty minutes total. Downie could return to the lineup by the weekend from ankle/knee problems.
Pavel Kubina returned to action on Thursday from a three game suspension for elbowing the Blackhawks
Dave Bolland.
Steve Stamkos leads the NHL in goals with 43 while
Martin St. Louis is second in assists with 59.
TORONTOGames this week@ Minnesota, @ Colorado, @ Detroit
NotesThe Maple Leafs play all three games on the road this week.
Dion Phaneuf has regained his scoring touch of late as he has 11 points in his last 12 games. It appears that the Maple Leafs playoff hopes are near zero as they lost two out of three this past week. Toronto recalled former first round pick
Nazem Kadri and he should remain with the squad until the end of the season.
Keith Aulie has been impressive thus far as the Maple Leafs seem to have finally figured out how to develop their talent in the minor leagues. A big reason for this is the coaching of
Dallas Eakins with the Marlies.
VANCOUVERGames this week@ Detroit, @ Atlanta, @ Columbus
NotesThe Canucks are on the road for all three games this week. They are rested on Friday when they go into Atlanta as the Thrashers are in Long Island the night before. The Canucks were the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season and are the only team over 100 points.
Kevin Bieksa could return this week from a broken foot, while
Alexander Edler returned to the ice on Wednesday after undergoing back surgery at the end of January.
Manny Malhotra has been a great third center for the Canucks but was struck on the eye Wednesday and needed surgery.
WASHINGTONGames this week@ Philadelphia, @ Ottawa, @ Montreal
NotesThe Capitals are at the end of a six game road trip. They are a rested team on Friday when they are in Ottawa as the Senators play the Rangers in New York on Thursday but are tired the next night when they face a rested Canadiens team in Montreal.
Mike Green is eligible to return to action on March 22 from long term injured reserve. The Capitals have three capable goaltenders in
Semyon Varlamov,
Michal Neuvirth and
Braden Holtby but coach Bruce Boudreau will not commit to a playoff goaltender at this time.
PLAYERS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEKTyler Seguin - Bruins
Niclas Bergfors - Panthers
Chris Neil - Senators
Ville Leino - Flames
Dustin Jeffrey - Penguins
LAST WEEK'S PLAYERSThis is how the players performed through Thursday
G A PPP +/- PIMS
Matt Calvert - Blue Jackets 0 0 0 0 0
Guillaume Latendresse - Wild Did not play
Jeff Halpern - Canadiens 0 0 0 -1 0
Brian Rolston - Devils 1 1 1 0 0
Mikkel Boedker - Coyotes 0 0 0 0 2
Tyler Bozak - Maple Leafs 1 0 0 -3 0